Regardless of Colin Castleton’s 22-point efficiency and an 11-point first-half lead, the Gators fell to the Oklahoma Sooners (9-3) on Tuesday evening within the Jumpman Invitational matchup.
They fall to 7-4 on the 12 months.
The Gators began the competition sizzling on each ends of the court docket on the backs of Colin Castleton and Trey Bonham.
It began early when Castleton drew a foul on a lob try on the primary possession of the competition from Kyle Lofton. After splitting the free throws on his journey to the charity stripe, Castleton bought again on protection and was on the underside finish of a ball display screen on the high of the important thing from his man Tanner Groves.
The guard handed the ball to Groves, forcing Castleton to step up and play the proficient scorer past the three-point arc.
Nevertheless, because the give-and-go occurred and Groves regarded to make a transfer, Bonham pickpocketed the Sooners’ massive man and took the ball again in the other way. He completed on the rim to present Florida a 3-0 lead and kickstarted the duo’s manufacturing as they evenly mixed for 20 factors on the half and aided a unit taking pictures at only a 33% clip to the halftime lead.
It additionally set the tone for the early depth and power the Gators performed with on every finish of the court docket, attacking the board, taking part in energetic protection and getting out in transition for simple rim twos on the other finish.
The fast-paced model of play showcased the tempo Golden was anticipated to deliver to Gainesville as they constructed an 11-point first-half lead.
However, it did not final.
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With the momentum swinging within the Sooners’ favor nearing the top of the primary half, as they reduce Florida’s double-digit result in two heading into the locker room, the Gators regarded to reply with the same efficiency as the primary 16 minutes.
That wasn’t the case.
As a substitute, the 2 groups traded blows for almost all of the second half. Porter Moser’s squad retook its first lead for the reason that 6-5 mark with 16:13 remaining after a Jacob Groves nook three discovered the underside of the online. Lofton shortly answered with a layup on the other finish to tie it again up.
From there, the offensive manufacturing slowed, with every having to earn robust buckets the remainder of the best way. Florida scored simply 22 factors within the second half because of this.
The battle of the bigs, which was anticipated to be a deciding issue within the contest, was received by Castleton, scoring 22 factors and holding Groves to 13.
Sadly for Florida, the distinction rested of their incapability to shoot the ball from distance, pulling down simply 9.5% of their shot makes an attempt from downtown. Oklahoma, then again, related on seven, with 4 coming from main scorer Grant Sherfield.
He led the unit with 20 factors on the night, together with a large end on the rim off the dribble on Castleton with simply over two minutes remaining. That gave the Sooners the power to fend off UF down the stretch.
The Gators fall to 1-3 towards energy six opponents this season. They are going to head to The Plains to tackle the Auburn Tigers to start league play on Dec. 28.
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